Dip, Dip, Dip. Yum!

Every Thanksgiving, and other holidays or celebrations, I make a few favorite dips for my guests to feast on before the gorge. This year for Thanksgiving I made three of my favorites.

The first is the old standard Spinach Dip. This is served with Hawaiian bread or crackers .

Spinach Dip
1 pkg of Knorrs Veg Soup
1 cup Mayonnaise
1 cup Sour Cream
2 Tbsp of grated Parmesan Cheese
1 10oz pkg of frozen chopped Spinach

Thaw and squeeze spinach to get rid of excess water. Mix all ingredients together and chill. If using the round Hawaiian bread, hollow the loaf out and cut the removed bread into chunks. Place the chilled dip in the hollowed loaf to serve.

The second dip I served this year was also an old standard that I just call Beef Dip. Many people make it into a cheese ball by adding another cheese and rolling it in chopped nuts. I just like it plain with one cheese and served in a dish to spread on crackers.

Beef Dip
8 oz package of Cream cheese softened
1 Tbsp Water
2 Tbsp chopped Onion
1 Pkg Buddig Beef chopped

Put your Cream cheese in a bowl and add the water. Using the back of a spoon to soften cheese and mix the water into it. Once the cheese is smooth, add the onions and mix.  Next add the beef a little at a time until your happy with the amount. Chill until ready to serve with crackers.

The last Dip I serve is my favorite. I found this recipe on an old Market Day holiday flyer over 10 years ago in Indiana. I changed it a bit to of course make it better. I serve this dip with Honey Graham cracker sticks or Scooby snacks. It is like eating pumpkin pie!

Pumpkin Dip
1 8oz pkg Cream cheese softened
1/4 cup Powder sugar
1/2 cup canned Pumpkin
1/4 tsp Cinnamon
1/8 tsp Nutmeg
dash Cloves
1 8oz whipped topping (Cool Whip)

Beat the cream cheese and sugar until well blended with an electric mixer. Stir in all the remaining ingredients, except the whipped topping, until all are completely blended. Now fold in the whipped topping. Chill until ready to serve with graham cracker sticks.

Happy Dipping!





 

Pickle's in Seaside, Florida

Pickle's in Seaside at sunset!

When my Husband and I go to Florida a couple times a year to stay at our condo on the Panhandle, we always take a drive to Seaside to eat at Pickle's. Seaside is a small beach community that is about halfway between Panama City and Destin on the Florida Panhandle. It is full of expensive rentals and has a small area of shopping and restaurants, including permanent food trucks, on both sides of 30A. On the Beach side of 30A sits a hamburger joint named Pickle's.

You can dine inside Pickle's.

You can sit along the front of the building with the windows open and watch the Seaside square. On busy days you see more of 30A traffic than anything else.

There is also an outside dining area that is nice when the weather is pleasant, which is most of the time.

The drive from our condo to Seaside is about 40 minutes, and we make that drive every Florida visit just to go to Pickle's. The hamburgers are made from grass fed beef, and I have never had a bad burger from Pickle's. You can special order your burger with your choice of toppings including 7 types of cheese. In addition to lettuce and tomatoes you can add chili, bacon, hilly dilly sauce, grilled onions, jalapenos, dill pickle relish, bread and butter pickles, and barbecue sauce.

You can see the menu has a great variety of items which also includes adult beverages. 

I had a burger with Swiss, tomato, lettuce and mayo. Perfect!

Now, lets talk about their fries. Yum! They are hand cut and double fried. I have no idea what double fried means, but they are delicious. We always get the Walk Away XL fries that come in a large cup that we share. They are seasoned and cooked expertly. The only thing that could improve the fries would be dipping them in one of Pickles's vanilla shakes. So, so good!

My husband and I shared this XL cup of delicious fries.

I saved the best for last. The "Famous" fried pickle spears! Dill pickle spears that are breaded, deep fried and served with ranch dressing. Oh My Stars, they are Spectacular. The spear's breading is spiced perfectly and, like their French fries, they are fried to perfection. They are by far my favorite item on the menu. We have fried pickles in Texas that are really good, but non compare to Pickle's pickles.

I can't even look at these pickles without my mouth watering. They are truly the BEST!!

Debate?

What a great match up! Both are fierce competitors, and I am sure they will drop the gloves at least once during the night. Both will talk smack, poke and prod each other to get them to make a mistake. They will insult each other, and may even insult each others families. Both will cross the red line, and interfere with the other. Both want to win! That's right, I am going to a hockey game. Sad isn't it that this is a perfect description of a Political Debate! At least hockey has a penalty box for bad behavior.